An author and platform entertainer who became tremendously popular in his own day, Samuel Clemens participated in the major literary movements of the century and knew virtually every one of his distinguished contemporaries. Biographers have emphasized the incredibly opposed forces that characterized his temperament and his literary works. Capable of gentle affection and great sacrifices, Clemens nevertheless antagonized or deserted numerous business and personal acquaintances. Suspicious of others' motives, he often terminated a relationship upon discerning a hint that the person was taking advantage of his trust; in other instances, however, he remained loyal to certain individuals in the face of evidence that he was being damaged monetarily by these erstwhile friends. Bret Harte, Edward H. House, and Charles L. Webster were among the many men and women Clemens came to detest; Joseph H. Twichell, William Dean Howells, and Henry H. Rogers were among the few who retained his long-term regard.
